Chapter 16

Ella POV

I was startled by Alexander's message, but I didn’t waste any time. I put my bathrobe on and quietly slipped down the stairs. Then I slipped my shoes on and went out the front door.

The moment the door clicked closed behind me, Alexander was there.

I jumped but managed not to make any sound. I put my hand over my heart, which was racing, and glared at him.

He motioned with his finger against his lips for me to be quiet. Then he lightly grabbed me by the arm and led me away from the house.

It was very late, and the night patrol had already started. I couldn't risk being seen sneaking around alone with Alexander. Luckily, he seemed to know this and easily avoided the patrols, as he led me far enough away from the house that there was no chance of my parents overhearing our conversation.

"What's going on?" I asked softly. "What do you want to talk about that we have to be so secretive?"

He smirked at me in reply. "I thought you liked thrilling situations like this. Isn’t that why you decided to maintain your engagement to David while you still have a deal with me?"

I felt my face heat at his words, and I hoped that the darkness would hide it.

"It's not like that," I said. "We shouldn't expect all of our plans to be successful on the first try. David is determined to take over my pack, and the only way he can do that is through me. I should have known he wouldn't give up so easily."

Alexander looked at me thoughtfully. It seemed to me that he was suspicious, though he was trying to hide it.

"It's not as though it was a complete loss," I pointed out. "I made him agree to a deal today that if he's caught in another lie or betrayal, he'll have to surrender his pack's farmland to me."

"Go on," Alexander said. "Explain."

"I know that on our wedding night, David and Amanda are going to sleep together. I can arrange it so that they’re caught in the act. Then there'll be no way for him to deny it. He and his pack will be shamed in front of the whole kingdom, and I'll get out of my marriage to him."

"You sound certain about that," Alexander said.

"I'll just need a little help to make sure they're caught," I continued. "I think you might be able to help me with that. I'll need as many people as possible to attend the reception after our wedding. I want a big audience to witness it themselves so that David can’t lie his way out of it."

Alexander POV

I didn’t understand how Ella could possibly know that David and Amanda planned to sleep together on her wedding night, but she seemed absolutely certain of it.

I knew I shouldn’t doubt her—she hadn’t led me astray so far. She had an uncanny ability to know what was coming. I didn’t understand how, but I’d seen stranger things in my life.

"Assuming you're right about this," I said, "wouldn’t we be cutting it a bit close to wait until after the wedding? There's a lot more risk for me in this idea and a lot more benefit for you."

"That's true," she said with a thoughtful look on her face. "The contract should benefit you in some way as well. How about I sell you part of the farmland's production capacity at half price?"

I almost laughed out loud but held it in so I wouldn’t alert the guards. She certainly had a shrewd side, which I found both amusing in someone so young and intriguing in such a pretty woman.

I reached into the bag over my shoulder and pulled out a gift box. I held it out to Ella, and she looked at me with confusion. "There's a dress inside. You'll need it."

"For what?" she asked as she accepted the box.

"The banquet for the Alpha King candidates," I replied. "I got a look at the guest list and noticed that your name wasn't on it, so I fixed that. You'll want to keep people talking about you, especially in light of what just happened with David. There will be a lot of reporters there, so it’s a good opportunity."

She frowned slightly, and I thought she might refuse, but instead, she lifted her eyes to me and asked, "How did you know my dress size?"

I smiled and let my eyes trail down her body slowly. "I'm very observant," I said.

A little bit of pink rose to her cheeks.

Ella POV

I was about to respond to Alexander's obvious flirtations when I saw a light out of the corner of my eye. Instinctively, I reached out and grabbed Alexander's wrist, pulling him back into the shadows with me.

We ended up pressed against the corner of the house, our bodies close together as a guard with a flashlight approached.

My heart rate sped up—I couldn’t afford to get caught with him, not like this. There would be no way to explain it without raising suspicion.

I was extremely frustrated. It was ridiculous that I, the daughter of the Alpha, had to sneak around in my own yard, hiding from my own guards.

Why couldn’t Alexander have just contacted me like a normal person? But deep down, I knew why—we had to keep the fact that we knew each other as secret as possible.

I glanced around, desperate for anywhere we could run to without being seen, but suddenly the guard stopped walking and turned his back to us. I breathed a small sigh of relief as the beam of the flashlight shifted away from us and landed on a tall, pretty woman.

“You forgot your food,” she said in a soft, sweet tone as she approached the guard.

“Sorry,” he replied, bending down to kiss her lightly before taking the lunch bag she held up to him.

She smiled warmly. “It’s hot out—you’ll need your food and something cool to drink.”

I felt strange watching the two of them interact. It was obvious they were very much in love, and my heart broke a little. There was a time when I thought this was what David and I had, but I was so wrong.

It was hard not to be jealous of what they had.

Alexander moved slightly, and I felt his body press close to mine. I looked up at him questioningly, and my heart stuttered as I realized just how close we were.

His chest was pressing into me as he stood in front of me, pinning me against the side of the house. Heat rushed through me at the contact. I could feel myself blushing yet again.

I realized that he was wearing dark clothes, so he was moving himself in front of me so that my brightly colored clothes wouldn’t stand out in the dark. Despite that good reason for the contact, I couldn’t help but wonder if our contact made him feel as heated as I was.

If he did feel this attraction, there was no sign of it on his face. At least, not that I could see in the dim light.

We watched as the guard and his wife walked away together. Once they were far enough away that I could be sure we wouldn’t be seen, I gently pushed Alexander away.

“I’ll see you at the banquet,” I said softly. “Thank you for the invitation and the dress.”

“It’s my pleasure,” he said with a slight smirk.

Then he turned and walked off into the darkness. I knew without a doubt that he would make it home without being detected, so I didn’t wait around to watch him go. Instead, I snuck back into the house and up to my room.

I set the box aside and collapsed onto my bed.

Today had been truly exhausting, and I needed to get some sleep, but as I lay there, my heart wouldn’t stop racing. I knew it wasn’t due to the close call with the guard or the thrill of sneaking out; it was because of Alexander and the way he looked at me.

After what David and Amanda did to me, I felt like my heart had been ripped out and stomped on. I never wanted to go through anything like that again. I never wanted to allow anyone to get close enough to hurt me like that.

Yet every time Alexander was near, my face got heated, and my heart raced.

It was attraction, nothing more. I couldn’t allow it to be anything more.